Heliopsis plant named ‘Bit of Honey’

ABSTRACT

The new and distinct hardy perennial plant, Heliopsis ‘Bit of Honey’, has dense, rounded, mound habit with extensively-branched, predominately strong upright stems that resist lodging. The foliage is narrowly ovate to broadly lanceolate with green surrounding the veins and near white between the veins. Inflorescences are in a capitulum with two or three whorls of golden-yellow, overlapping, ray florets and central disk florets of gold coloration. The new plant is freely flowering and begins blooming in early summer and continues for about six weeks. The new plant is useful in the landscape en masse, as an accent, in containers or as cut flowers.

Botanical denomination: Heliopsis helianthoides (L.) Sweet.

Variety designation: ‘Bit of Honey’.

STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES UNDER 37 CFR 1.77(b)(6)

The first non-enabling disclosure of the claimed plant, in the form of aphotograph and brief description on a website operated by WaltersGardens, Inc. was on Dec. 1, 2021. The claimed plant was first sold onAug. 23, 2021 to Corsos Flower and Garden Center as well as othernurseries afterward by Walters Gardens, Inc., who obtained the plant andall information relating from the inventor. No plants of Heliopsis ‘Bitof Honey’ have been sold in this country or anywhere in the world, norhas any disclosure of the new plant been made, more than one year priorto the filing date of this application, and such sale or disclosurewithin one year was either derived directly or indirectly from theinventor.

BACKGROUND AND ORIGIN OF THE PLANT

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar ofHeliopsis ‘Bit of Honey’. The new plant was selected as a singleseedling from the progeny of a cross by the inventor between ‘TuscanSun’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 18,763 as the female or seed parent and‘Sunstruck’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 25,524 as the male or pollen parent onJul. 7, 2015. Seed was harvested in the fall of 2015 and eventuallyassigned the breeder code 15-5-21 toward the end of the trial period.‘Bit of Honey’ was approved in a final evaluation in the summer of 2019and slated for later introduction. The new plant was selected based onthe compact habit, strong stems, ability to withstand lodging, mildewresistance, attractive foliage, high-quality flowers over a long period,and ability to attract pollinators. The new plant has been asexuallyfirst propagated by division and later by shoot tip cuttings with theresultant plants remaining identical to the original plant, stable andtrue to type in successive generations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Plants of the new Heliopsis have not been observed under all possiblecombinations of environmental conditions and cultural practices. Thephenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environmental conditionscomprising temperature, daylength, light intensity, and fertility,without, however, any variance in genotype.

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined tobe the unique characteristics of the new Heliopsis plant. Thesecharacteristics in combination distinguish ‘Bit of Honey’ as a new anddistinct Heliopsis plant:

-   -   1. Foliage with green directly surrounding the veins and near        white between the veins;    -   2. Dense rounded mound plant habit;    -   3. Extensive branching habit;    -   4. Freely flowering habit beginning in early summer and        continuing for about six weeks;    -   5. Large inflorescences with multiple rows of golden-yellow ray        florets and deeper gold disk florets;    -   6. Ray florets held above slightly outwardly to upwardly;    -   7. Strong garden performance.

The female parent has a taller and more upright habit with solid,non-variegated, green foliage. The male parent has foliage that hasgreen veins and white between the veins with a shorter habit than thenew plant. The male parent has fewer ray florets per inflorescence, andthey are more yellow and less gold and held more horizontally.

The following cultivars are the most similar cultivars known to theinventor: ‘Loraine Sunshine’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,690, ‘Summer Green’U.S. Plant Pat. No. 23,410, ‘Sunstruck’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 25,524,‘Double Sunstruck’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 26,608, and the seed variety‘Sunburst’ (not patented).

‘Loraine Sunshine’, ‘Summer Green’, and the seed variety ‘Sunburst’ areall taller and more upright in habit but have similar variegatedfoliage. ‘Summer Green’ also has much darker purple stems. ‘Sunstruck’has a shorter more compact habit with similar variegated foliage.‘Double Sunstruck’ has more ray florets, weaker stems that have agreater tendency to lodge. ‘Bit of Honey’ has more ray florets thatoverlap more than all of the above comparison cultivars except ‘DoubleSunstruck’.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The photographs of the new plant demonstrate the unique traits ofHeliopsis ‘Bit of Honey’ and the overall appearance of a three-year-oldplant in the full sun display garden of a nursery in Zeeland, Mich. Thecolors are as accurate as reasonably possible with color reproductions.Variation in ambient light spectrum, source and direction may cause theappearance of minor variation in color.

FIG. 1 shows a close-up of the inflorescence and bud from above.

FIG. 2 shows the landscape habit of the new plant.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The following descriptions and color references are based on the 2015edition of The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart except wherecommon dictionary terms are used. Heliopsis ‘Bit of Honey’ has not beenobserved under all possible environments. The phenotype may varyslightly with different growing environments such as temperature, light,fertility, soil pH, moisture, and maturity levels, but without anychange in the genotype. The following observations and size descriptionsare based on three-year-old plants grown in a trial garden and apartially shaded greenhouse at a nursery in Zeeland, Mich. withsupplemental fertilizer and water as needed and without growthregulators or pinching.

-   Botanical classification: Heliopsis helianthoides;-   Parentage: The female (seed) parent is ‘Tuscan Sun’; the male    (pollen) parent is ‘Starstruck’;-   Plant habit: Multi-stemmed, heavily-branched, herbaceous perennial    forming a dense rounded mound;-   Propagation: Shoot tip cuttings;-   Plant size: To about 45 cm tall and 50 cm wide;-   Time to initiate roots: About one to two weeks;-   Growth rate: Moderate; about 8 to 12 weeks to finish in a 3.8-liter    container from a rooted 25 mm plug liner;-   Root description: Fibrous; medium thickness; light tan to white in    color, depending on soil composition, water quality, fertilizer type    and formulation, substrate temperature, and physiological age of    roots; medium density;-   Stems: To about 15 per plant; cylindrical; micro-puberulent; to    about 44 cm length and 6 mm diameter at base;-   Stem color: Proximally nearest RHS 146D and distally nearest RHS    146B;-   Branches: About 6 branches per stem beginning about 19 cm above    soil; cylindrical; micro-puberulent; strong; flexible; to about 16    cm long and 2 mm diameter at base; color nearest RHS 146B;-   Branch aspect: About 45 degrees above horizontal;-   Nodes: About 7 below branches and a total of 13 to 15 before    flowers; average internode length about 3.1 cm; node color nearest    RHS 146B;-   Leaf description: Narrowly ovate to broadly lanceolate; opposite;    apex acute; base obtuse to truncate; margin serrate with 12 to 14    teeth per side; scaberulose adaxial and abaxial;-   Leaf size: To about 8.5 cm long and 4.5 cm wide, average about 6.9    cm long and 3.0 cm wide;-   Leaf color: Young adaxial nearest RHS 12D between veins and the area    directly surrounding veins nearest RHS 137A, young abaxial nearest    RHS 12D between veins and area directly surrounding veins between    RHS 138A and RHS 137C; mature flowering stage adaxial between RHS    12D and RHS 11C between the veins with portion directly surrounding    veins nearest RHS 137A, mature abaxial between RHS 12D and RHS 11D    between the veins with portion directly surrounding veins nearest    RHS 137A;-   Veins: Reticulate; slightly recessed and glabrous adaxial, abaxial    micro-puberulent and costate;-   Vein color: Young adaxial nearest RHS 148C and abaxial nearest RHS    148C; mature adaxial nearest RHS N148C and abaxial nearest RHS 146D;-   Petioles: Concavo-convex; sparsely puberulent adaxial and abaxial;    to about 15 mm long and 2 mm across;-   Petiole color: Adaxial center nearest RHS 146D, margin nearest RHS    145C; abaxial center nearest RHS 145C, margin nearest RHS 137B;-   Inflorescence: In terminal capitulum; initial inflorescences    semi-double with disk florets in the center and two to three layers    of ray florets, later inflorescences nearly single with a single    layer of imbricate ray florets; about 150 to 200 inflorescences per    plant;-   Flowering season: Begins flowering early July and continuing for    about six weeks;-   Inflorescence buds: Tubular with flat top and rounded base; with ray    florets still upright—about mm tall and 20 mm across;-   Bud color: Ray florets nearest RHS 146D with slight undertone of    nearest RHS 151D;-   Inflorescence longevity: Lasting about seven to ten days on the    plant or as a cut flower; persistent;-   Fragrance: Very slight, sweet;-   Inflorescence size: To about 7 cm across and 3.5 cm tall;-   Disk receptacle: Flattened round shape, about 8 mm across and 7 mm    tall;-   Receptacle color: Nearest RHS 146C;    -   -   Ray florets.—Between 20 and 50 per inflorescence, arranged            in about 2 to 3 imbricate whorls; typically larger number of            ray florets earlier in summer; lanceolate with bifid            emarginate apex indented to about 1.5 mm; base attenuate to            cuneate; margin entire; adaxial and abaxial surface glabrous            and matte; aspect horizontal when mature; with typically two            longitudinal furrows.        -   Size.—To about 30 mm long and 9.5 mm across near middle.        -   Ray floret color.—Upon initially becoming flat — adaxial            nearest RHS 14A, abaxial nearest RHS 7B; near the final            stage of effective inflorescence adaxial nearest RHS 13C,            abaxial nearest 7C.        -   Disk florets.—About 100 per inflorescence and arrangement in            typical Fibonacci spirals; tubular with exserted anthers and            style.        -   Size.—To about 9 mm long and 3 mm wide at expanded style.        -   Corolla tube.—Consisting of five indistinguishable perianth            or tepals; to about 6 mm long and 2 mm wide at apex.        -   Tepals.—Acute apex; fused in basal 5 mm; margin entire;            glabrous; slightly lustrous adaxial and abaxial; to about 5            mm long and about 0.7 mm across at fusion; color apex            adaxial and abaxial nearest RHS 17A; proximal adaxial            portion nearest RHS 145D, proximal portion abaxial between            RHS N144D and RHS 145C.-   Reproductive organs: Ray florets: anandrous;    -   -   Gynoecium.—To 9 mm long; exserted.        -   Style.—Cylindrical; to about 4 mm long and 0.2 mm diameter;            color nearest RHS 6D proximally and distally nearest RHS            17A.        -   Stigma.—Bifid in distal 1.5 mm; color nearest RHS 17A.        -   Ovary.—3 mm long and 1 mm across; color nearest 157A.-   Reproductive organs: Disk florets: perfect;    -   -   Gynoecium.—To 9 mm long; exserted.        -   Style.—Cylindrical; to about 4 mm long and 0.2 mm diameter;            color nearest RHS 6D proximally and distally nearest RHS            17A.        -   Stigma.—Bifid in distal 1.5 mm; color nearest RHS 17A.        -   Ovary.—3 mm long and 1 mm across; color nearest 157A.        -   Androecium.—Connate; to about 4.3 mm long.        -   Anthers.—Five; synandrous; introrse; basifixed; tube to            about 2.3 mm long and 0.7 mm diameter; color nearest RHS            200B.        -   Filaments.—Five; to about 2 mm long and 0.2 mm diameter;            color nearest RHS 155C.        -   Pollen.—abundant; color nearest RHS 17A.-   Seeds: Achene; truncate apex; acute base; surface smooth, glabrous,    matte; quadrangular distally; to about 4 mm long and 2 mm across at    apex, average about 3 mm long and 1.8 mm across; about 63 per    inflorescence; color nearest RHS 200A;-   Flowering period: In Western Michigan beginning early July for about    six weeks; individual florets remain open for about 4 to 6 days;-   Flower attitude: Upwardly to slightly outwardly;-   Phyllaries: About 27 per inflorescence in two whorls; lanceolate;    acute apex; margin entire; puberulent and matte adaxial and abaxial;    about 8 mm long and 2 mm across at base;-   Phyllary color: Adaxial between RHS N137A and RHS 137A; abaxial    nearest RHS 146A;-   Peduncles: Cylindrical; micro-puberulent; strong; stiff; upright; to    about 10.8 cm long, 2.5 mm diameter proximally and 6.0 mm diameter    at base of inflorescence;-   Peduncle color: Nearest RHS 146D;-   Growth: The new plant has been observed to have good garden    performance and tolerance to high winds and strong rains;-   Hardiness: Winter hardy in USDA zones. 4 to 9;-   Pest and disease susceptibility: Shows resistance to powdery mildew    (Neoerysiphe galeopsidis) but shows no other resistance or    susceptibility observed beyond that which is typical for Heliopsis.

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct hardy perennial Heliopsis plant named‘Bit of Honey’ essentially as herein described and illustrated.